Abodianhttp://www.abodian.com
Seattle's Custom Cabinet SolutionWed, 11 Feb 2015 18:36:38 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.1Featured Project: Before & After Kitchen Makeoverhttp://www.abodian.com/featured-project-kitchen-makeover/
http://www.abodian.com/featured-project-kitchen-makeover/#commentsMon, 23 Jun 2014 22:21:50 +0000http://www.abodian.com/?p=2683We’re loving this recently completed kitchen by Meredith Stenning Designs, which took a boring and outdated space and gave it completely new life. From the custom painted range to the funky blue casework, this kitchen has a personality all its own and tons of added functionality to boot. Meredith’s design lets the Abodian cabinets and storage solutions shine, from the display cases to the floating shelves to sleek gray and blue surfaces throughout.

]]>http://www.abodian.com/featured-project-kitchen-makeover/feed/0Seattle contemporary built to stand up and out now and laterhttp://www.abodian.com/seattle-contemporary-built-stand-now-later/
http://www.abodian.com/seattle-contemporary-built-stand-now-later/#commentsMon, 16 Jun 2014 21:04:20 +0000http://www.abodian.com/?p=2671

By Rebecca Teagarden

The Seattle Times

May 23, 2014

The homeowner wanted an edgy modern house with a nice kitchen, good entertaining space. He wanted smaller and needed affordable. Then he found the homes of the Stephenson Design Collective.

BENJAMIN BENSCHNEIDER / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Homeowner Michael Spiz wanted a durable, maintenance-free home. The exterior is Corten steel, which grows richer over time, and charred cedar. The project was a design-team effort of Ryan Stephenson, Dave Biddle and project manager Kelly McConnaha; finished April 2013.

MICHAEL SPIZ was living in Everett and working in downtown Seattle. He brake-pedaled his way to work along Interstate 5 for about five years before the commute wore him down. Got him to thinking.

“I wanted to find some kind of modern-looking house; something edgy but not a cube, not a box” the software engineer says of his hunt for a place to buy in Seattle. “I wanted a nice kitchen, good entertaining space, finishes with natural materials with minimal maintenance.

“But it’s hard to find that kind of thing in less than 3,000 or 4,000 square feet, and I couldn’t afford that.”

In the course of Spiz’s yearlong adventures through the city’s real estate offerings he passed through a few homes by Stephenson Design Collective. He found them to be creative and not excessively large. Spiz gave them a call.

“I asked if they had anything else for sale. They said, ‘What’s your budget?’ ”

Oh sure, Spiz is all smiles now. Sitting in his glass-walled living room with over-the-treetop views west from Madrona over Madison Valley (culminating in the dome of St. Joseph on Capitol Hill). “I think my favorite thing is this space right here,” he says. “It’s nice to have something that’s so bright and light.” (Relive his journey with Spiz’s homebuilding blog at viretta.blogspot.com .)

Spiz’s house, built by Quality Remodeling & Restoration, meets all of his requirements and then some. It is not a box at all, sitting up tall and spreading its three bedrooms and 3½ baths over three floors and 2,150 square feet. Kitchen, dining and living rooms flow one to another and then out to a large deck, these spaces sharing a concrete floor. There is another 300-square-foot covered patio off the lower level of the home, and another, on the rooftop, awaits the budget go-ahead.

And edgy? The Spiz home is all over edgy, literally. The look of it is not something you see every day, or any day, really. It is cloaked in designed-to-rust Corten steel and charred cedar (charred on site). The address has been cut prominently into the steel. Access is across a steel bridge and via a passcard reader. The Corten continues inside, supporting the bamboo stairs, as the living-room ceiling (12 feet overhead) and out the back as the patio roof.

Spiz, 31, and his girlfriend, Alyssa Hays, use their creative home with flair and often. They, along with friend Nich Anderson, host jazz concerts there, charging patrons about $30 for dinner (prepared by Spiz) and a show. (Find the schedule at Jazzvox.com.) Spiz himself sings with Seattle Jazz Singers, and is, well, jazzed about sharing his home with like-minded enthusiasts.

“I’m still trying to figure out how much food to make. And it’s definitely break even or at a slight loss,” he says. “But I get a professional performance out of it, and other people get to come hear it, too. That’s the best.”

Spiz is properly equipped to prepare, say, chicken satay and lamb meatballs for a crowd. “I got a supercool range, a 23,000 btu Capital with six open burners,” he says, also proudly pointing out the exterior-exhaust Viking range hood, designed to serve a cook who uses a wok and barbecues indoors. Counters are Caesarstone, and cabinets, in plentiful supply, are configured for organization by Abodian.

The Spiz home was designed for the future: to grow with humans, technology and the budget. For solar panels, a green roof, car-charging hookup, home-automation system and a mother-in-law suite.

Says Spiz, “I feel like that’s something I get to look forward to even more.”

This project was one Abodian completed last June for a house built by Isola Homes in Seattle. The kitchen was characterized by a modern, open floorplan, and TSS Pallisando Walnut Upper cabinets and Carbone lowers fit the contemporary feel perfectly. Abodian’s unique grain-matching program is particularly well-accentuated here on the horizontal grain slab doors. For Nathan, Abodian’s Key Accounts Solutioneer, a favorite component is the floating shelves with glass door uppers. He was particularly inspired while working on this design by the interplay of city trees and downtown corridor skyscrapers, which came through in the open, branching forms and upper mass of the shelving and cabinetry.

The contractor on this project was thrilled with the finished look and unique touch these design and material elements lend to the kitchen, and loves working with Abodian for our unique material selections and total flexibility.

Last Thursday, we teamed up with one of our favorite creative folks in the area, Les of Rocket Pictures, to put together a little commercial. You see, we have this fun new product in the works, and while we can’t spill ALL the beans just yet, we can drop a couple of hints:

It’s totally upcycled

It’s totally sustainable

It’s totally practical

It’s totally simple

It’s totally funky

While our official launch is still a few weeks out, here’s a sneak preview of what’s to come, a behind the scenes peek at our commercial shoot at a studio in Interbay. We had amazing actors on set: Dan, who stepped way out of character to play a music loving hipster, Stella, who stole the show as a tidy lover of toys, Grace, whose yogi prowess raised the elegance bar, Shea, who made pouring wine look easy, and Jeremy, whose basketball skills added some very fun elements to his scene. We had such a blast working with everyone. Here’s a look at what we were up to!

]]>http://www.abodian.com/sneak-preview-qub-video-shoot/feed/0Featured Project: Howington Residencehttp://www.abodian.com/featured-project-howington-residence/
http://www.abodian.com/featured-project-howington-residence/#commentsFri, 09 May 2014 22:53:31 +0000http://www.abodian.com/?p=2420This is a project that we completed last February, and it’s still one of our favorites. Every project is a shared effort between many stakeholders: architects, contractors, designers, trades, owners—the list goes on. Zach, Abodian’s Key Accounts Manager, was most struck working on this project by the commitment to quality of the entire team that had been assembled, from day one through to completion. Darren Patt, the general contractor, was uncompromising on build quality while adhering to the owner’s vision. Communication was seamless and expectations were clear. Will, the homeowner, came in for a tour of the factory and was as enamored with the process as we are, asking intelligent questions to get to the core of various constraints and aspects impacting the project. Most people are happy just to know we build great cabinets—Will showed a great interest in the “how” as well, which was very fun.

Needless to say, the final product was stunning! New construction with a vast, open, contemporary space were filled in with rich, warm tones, clean lines, and innovative materials.

Certain elements in particular stand out in this project. The stainless steel tambour is a highly functional and unique solution for counter-height cabinetry, and the industrial look and feel play into the contemporary design.The tall pantry cabinets, made out of taupe gloss acrylic, were fairly shallow—just 18 inches. Inside, we built customized wine storage and wine stem holders.

We were thrilled with the final result, as were the clients. Here’s what they had to say:

“Abodian recently did an installation for us and the end result far exceeded our expectations. From the very beginning consultation with Zach to the final product everything was pure perfection! We have had so many compliments on our cabinets and would highly recommend Abodian to anyone wanting quality custom cabinetry at very affordable prices.”

]]>http://www.abodian.com/featured-project-howington-residence/feed/0Abodian on KOMO’s Goode 4 Business Segmenthttp://www.abodian.com/abodian-komos-goode-4-business-segment/
http://www.abodian.com/abodian-komos-goode-4-business-segment/#commentsWed, 07 May 2014 19:16:17 +0000http://www.abodian.com/?p=2415Thanks to KOMO morning anchor Brad Goode and his team for the great segment that aired on this morning’s news in Seattle, featuring the Age Explorer suit and a local “small business success story”– that’s us!

We had a great our experience with Abodian. From beginning to end, we were given the utmost attention to our new home. With a new home underway, we struggled to find modern wood cabinet line that fit our price range and would not result in delays in our timeline. We found Abodian when hunting around in Open Houses, and found that they could design exactly what we wanted: beautiful, artful pieces that make a statement throughout our whole house. In addition, we were pleased with how reasonable they were in price for custom cabinets and happy they build the cabinets right in our neighborhood. Jacqueline and the team there worked with us on design and I feel that the cabinetry and wood really set our home apart. Thank you so much to Abodian.

Thanks, mrsiovin, for your great feedback!

]]>http://www.abodian.com/customer-review-mrsiovin-houzz/feed/0Customer Review from August S.http://www.abodian.com/customer-review-august-s/
http://www.abodian.com/customer-review-august-s/#commentsMon, 05 May 2014 23:40:19 +0000http://www.abodian.com/?p=2411Sometimes, our customers are thrilled enough with their experience working with Abodian that they go to sites like Yelp to post reviews. Unfortunately, sometimes Yelp’s algorithms don’t “recommend” these reviews for various, mysterious reasons, so they aren’t visible on our main review page. We want to thank our delighted customers for taking the time to share their great experience with the interwebs, and are re-posting some of those vanished-from-Yelp reviews here. We hope their testimonials are helpful for you!

Five Star Review from August S. on yelp

Incredible quality at a reasonable price. I couldn’t be happier with my new kitchen, and everyone who sees it is stunned. Abodian offers the ultimate combination of form and function. My installation looks fresh and contemporary yet somewhat unique, with lots of storage features that make using the space a true joy. On top of the outstanding result, I was very impressed by the process and people at Abodian. They were very helpful and engaged in my project, and guided me to some good decisions. I give Abodian my highest recommendation.

Thanks, August S., for your great feedback!

]]>http://www.abodian.com/customer-review-august-s/feed/0Customer Review from Shelley G.http://www.abodian.com/customer-review-shelley-g/
http://www.abodian.com/customer-review-shelley-g/#commentsMon, 05 May 2014 23:37:40 +0000http://www.abodian.com/?p=2409Sometimes, our customers are thrilled enough with their experience working with Abodian that they go to sites like Yelp to post reviews. Unfortunately, sometimes Yelp’s algorithms don’t “recommend” these reviews for various, mysterious reasons, so they aren’t visible on our main review page. We want to thank our delighted customers for taking the time to share their great experience with the interwebs, and are re-posting some of those vanished-from-Yelp reviews here. We hope their testimonials are helpful for you!

Five Star Review from Shelley G. on yelp

Abodian did the cabinets for a small kitchen and office in our basement apartment. The product is great and the process was nearly painless. We worked with Zach, Dwayne, and Dawn, all of whom provided prompt and excellent service. Price was comparable to other bids we entertained.

We love the look of our new cabinets, but just as important is that our contractor with whom we have had a long working relationship highly praised the quality and workmanship of the cabinets. Abodian provides an extensive installation packet with additional reassurances of phone or in-person support if needed. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend or go back to Abodian for any future cabinet needs.